David Sakmyster: The Cydonia Objective

A face.

A trick of light and shadow, most scientists believed, despite other equally incongruous structures nearby—things that looked suspiciously like pyramids, walled enclosures, and geometrically-precise markers aligned in relation to the mile-long, symmetrical ‘face’.

Another object struck the windshield, and Phoebe looked up, annoyed. Cairo’s roads were dusty and decrepit in places, and the bumpy ride from the pyramids toward the airport was jarring, with pebbles flying and--

“Oh crap!” Orlando shrieked, just as the driver grunted and his head snapped back, spraying blood into the back seat. Above the steering wheel, the windshield had a neat hole in it, with cracks spreading out, reaching toward the other impact point where another bullet had glanced off.

The limo turned sharply as the driver slumped sideways and dragged the wheel in his dying grasp. Phoebe screamed, and Orlando reached for her as an oncoming bus slammed into the driver’s side. A moment of tortured metallic screaming, and the limo banked up on its side, then flipped over.

The rest of the windows fractured, and as Phoebe rolled onto the roof with Orlando on top of her, she saw something out the back window. A black Hummer screeched to a halt, turning sideways.

And a man leaned out the window, taking aim at them with a grenade launcher.

Phoebe cursed, heldOrlando tight and tried to drag him up to the front, hoping to get out the main windshield. Never make it , she thought, wincing, bracing herself. Any second now–

The ground rocked, the limo shook, and she closed her eyes, hoping she’d feel no pain. The explosion came, except… it sounded less intense than she would have thought. Like it was at a distance. And–

“I don’t believe it.” Orlando pulled her up and dragged her over the seats, over the dead driver and out the shattered windshield. Onto a street littered with crashed cars, the overturned bus, and people filing out, shell-shocked. Phoebe stood and looked back toward the Hummer and saw what was left of it on its side with flames roaring through the shattered windows.

Bewildered, she glanced around just as two more dark forms leapt from a nearby alleyway and raised sleek guns she recognized as MP5s, the kind those commandos had when they’d captured the Morpheus team down in the mausoleum.

“Oh, that’s just not fair,” Orlando said, raising his hands even as the men took aim. Phoebe flinched as the shots rang out—and both men spun around, the backs of their heads simultaneously exploding. Two thin red beams descended from the sky and swept over their inert bodies, before darting over to Orlando and Phoebe.

Dust and wind kicked up, her hair blew back and then forward over her eyes, and Orlando shielded his face as he looked up.

“Helicopter.”

A rope ladder descended and a voice yelled from above, “ Climb up!”

Pushed by Orlando, Phoebe reached for the second rung and started climbing. Halfway up, expecting more shots to come from darkened alleys or apartment windows or rooftop shadows, she paused, tensing.

Three shots from above got her back into action. These people knew what they were doing, she thought grimly. I really hope they’re the good guys.

Near the top, she called down to Orlando, who was still struggling at the bottom, trying to hold his laptop and climb at the same time. Finally giving it up, he let it drop with a mournful groan, whimpered as it shattered, then scampered up after her.

In the helicopter, two men with helmets and rifles slung over their shoulders hauled her up while another with an RPG at his side started pulling up the ladder with Orlando still on it.

“GO!” one of them yelled to the pilot. The helicopter ascended and rushed ahead, even as the man with the RPG swiveled, aimed and fired two more shots at rooftop targets.

Orlando tumbled inside and clutched at Phoebe with an intensity that only surprised her because of how strong she found herself returning his hug.

The closest man shut the door, then took off his helmet, revealing a leathery face, a thick head of silvery hair, and pale blue eyes that blinked slowly as he considered his cargo.

“So you two are the ones causing all this fuss.”

Orlando glanced out the window, bidding farewell to his lost laptop. “Who, us?”

Phoebe was shaking her head, still bewildered. “The driver was taking us to the airport. We were told our part was done, that we’d be allowed to leave. It doesn’t make sense. Why would they have attacked us?”

Their rescuer sighed. “The limo was bugged. And so is your house back in New York. You would have been monitored. Everything you said, they’d follow. They would have hacked your computers, your phones…”

“I knew it,” Orlando said. “I was right!”

Phoebe stared at him. “About…?”

The man with the gun nodded. “We tapped into their signal and heard what they heard. Heard you talking. They gave the order to take you out as soon as you mentioned the name of– ”

“Mars!” Orlando shook his head. “Son of a bitch. What does it have to do with any of this? The Face? All that crazy stuff NASA’s been ridiculing for years…?”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” the man said. “First things first.” He held out a hand. “Edgerrin Temple, and the others here are what we like to call our Retrieval Unit.”

“Whose retrieval unit?” Phoebe asked, shouting to be heard over the engine.

The man smiled. “We’re not out of the woods yet.” He pointed to a row of seats on the wall. “You might want to strap yourselves in.”

As Phoebe moved into her seat, she peered out the window, seeing the looming Egyptian landmarks coming back into view, and she grinned. “We’re going back for my brother!”

“Actually, no.”

“ What? We can’t leave him there.”

“We can. They’ll be all right.”

Orlando finished with his seat belt. “How do you know that?”

Temple smiled as he put a phone to his ear. “We’re not without our own talents.”

Phoebe gave Orlando a look. She caught his hand, squeezed it. They both nodded together and closed their eyes.

“Hey!” Temple slammed the butt of his rifle against the floor. “No psychic-stuff now. Stay with me!”

Phoebe glared at him. “Caleb’s down there, trapped under the Sphinx. With– ”

“Alexander, yes we know. And your half-brother Xavier Montross.”

“Who the hell do you work for?” Phoebe asked directly. “And no more games. We’ve been double-crossed by the CIA, the FBI, the Keepers, and some other crazy religious group. Which one are you?”

Temple’s blue eyes remained radiant and sympathetic. “None of the above, I assure you, but for now, just look.”

As they circled around the Great Pyramid, Phoebe and Orlando were handed high-powered binoculars. Temple pointed down to the forepaws of the Great Sphinx, where a group of figures were standing, some of them glancing up.

Phoebe focused on one figure in particular, the one apparently in charge, barking orders, moving armed men and jeeps into a perimeter, signaling others to descend below. The figure paused, then looked up.

Phoebe said, “Damn. It’s Nina.”

“That bitch,” Orlando quipped. “Figures.”

“Confirmed,” Temple said into his phone, and then promptly tapped the pilot on the shoulder. The helicopter banked sharply, then took off.

“What was that all about?” Phoebe asked. “What’s confirmed?”

Temple smiled. “The Dove’s vision.”

“The what?” Orlando rubbed his eyes. “This sucks! Seriously, tell us or I’m remote-viewing you clowns as soon as you turn your back.”